Day 9

2014 Exploring The Northwest – DAY 9

Lake McDonald

Welcome to another rainy day in Hungry Horse. We left our campsite mid-morning and drove along Lake McDonald and stopping for lunch at the McDonald Lodge, which overlooks the lake.

The lodge was originally a hunting lodge and just celebrated its 100-year anniversary. It remains open all year-long. The central lobby and huge fireplace were a welcome refuge from the weather. Seems like most of the wildlife stayed hidden except for a few deer and a couple of mountain goats – their color [white] and size made them easy to spot.

Canada/Waterton has a visitors center at the entrance to Glacier National Park. We stopped in to find out a little more about Waterton as well as any special border crossing requirements. They gave us a long list of do’s and don’ts. We spent the rest of the day eating grapes, all stoned fruit, potatoes, and citrus fruits.

The biggest problem we discovered was that we were only allowed to bring in 2 bottles of wine per person. OUCH! The tariff for any amount over 2 bottles would be $8 per bottle – Carmine had brought a case of ‘drinkable’ wine that cost him less than $7 per bottle. Needless to say, we didn’t dump it, we didn’t drink it, but we steeled ourselves to pay the fee.

The rain cleared out by evening, so we were able to cook and eat outside, next to our roaring campfire. It was a beautiful experience. No smores tonight!